1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an image printer system that prints images based on image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras and film scanners have been gaining popularity in recent years. The image data obtained using a digital camera is recorded in recording media. Image printer systems that print out images on photosensitive paper based on the image data have also been proposed. Where images are printed on photosensitive paper using an image printer system, the user first selects a printing method (such as printing of specified images). When a printing method is selected, the image data is read from the recording medium and the contents of the data are displayed on the monitor. The user then specifies a number of prints for each image. Based on the image data read, light modulation is then performed and printing is performed by exposing photosensitive paper using the modulated light.
When printing the images, printing and saving of the data, for example, are sometimes desired to be performed simultaneously. In other words, in this case, the image data in the recording medium that may be mounted in a digital camera is desired to be saved in another larger capacity recording medium (CD-ROM or magneto-optical disk, for example) when the images are printed. However, using a conventional image printer system, printing of the image data and saving of the image data in another recording medium cannot be performed at the same time. Therefore, where it is desired to perform printing and saving of the image data simultaneously, the user has to wait for the completion of the printing and then start the data save procedure by designing the data save operation. The user must either remain in the vicinity of the printer during printing, or return to the printer when the printing has been completed, to perform the necessary steps to save the data, and again return when the data has been saved. Consequently, the process is quite inconvenient and is an inefficient use of the user's time.
In addition, various types of digital cameras have become available on the market in recent years, and there is a large variation in the image quality offered by these cameras. In addition, users themselves have various preferences regarding the quality of the printed image. Consequently, many images cannot be printed out with good image quality without undergoing image correction; in other cases, image correction is performed in order to satisfy the user's preference. Image printer systems, therefore, are capable of image correction when performing printing. Where multiple images are printed at the same time, image printer systems also automatically correct the image data and perform printing.
When performing printing with image correction and saving image data at the same time, the question arises regarding which image data should be saved. In other words, it is possible to save the post-correction image data. However, if the post-correction image data is saved, when an attempt is made later to print the same images using the recording medium on which the image data was saved (such as a CD-ROM), it is difficult to print out the original images prior to the image correction. It then might become necessary to perform further image correction to the image data. Then the image data would change every time printing is performed, and the significance of preservation of the original image data would be lost. In addition, there is the possibility that the image quality would continuously deteriorate if image correction were repeated many times.